The Cambodian government was strengthening
its capacity to combat human trafficking by focusing on poverty reduction and
was eager to work with other groups tackling the crime, Interior Ministry
Secretary of State Chou Bun Eng said yesterday.
“The
issues of human trafficking and migrating workers are complicated and a major
concern for Cambodia,” she told a workshop, adding that the government was
working hard to address these issues through partnerships with NGOs and
governments in other countries in the region.
Reducing
poverty and providing jobs, including jobs in other countries, were central to
the government’s strategy, Chou Bun Eng said.
The
government planned to strengthen co-ordination with NGOs, enhance law
enforcement, improve care of the victims of trafficking and raise awareness
about trafficking and safe migration.
It
would also soon sign bilateral agreements with Thailand and Malaysia on sending
migrant workers to those countries, Chou Bun Eng said.
Ya
Navuth, executive director of the NGO CARAM, told the workshop thousands of
migrant Cambodian workers were detained in other countries or had disappeared.
Many
had not been paid by their employers and some had been killed, Ya Navuth said.
He
called on the government to pursue region-wide legislation through ASEAN to
protect the rights of migrant workers.
USAid
director Flynn Fuller said a lack of jobs in rural areas left Cambodians
vulnerable to trafficking.
“Poverty
is no doubt a clear reason why many people choose to migrate abroad,” he said.
Last
year, 118,791 migrant workers were detained and sent back from Thailand and
Vietnam to Cambodia, according to the Interior Ministry.
It said
255 people had been arrested on human trafficking-related charges.
In
2010, 127,053 migrant workers were detained and sent back from Thailand and
Vietnam to Cambodia and 242 people were arrested on human trafficking-related
charges, the ministry said.
Buth
Reaksmey Kongkea
The
Phnom Penh Post
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